Sheet-advancing mechanism.



M. A. DROITCOUR.

SHEET ADVANCING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-8,1914.

Patented Feb. 1, 1916. 4 SHEETS-SHEET I INVENTOR. Mam.

M. A. nnoncoun;

SHEET ADVANCING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DEC-I. 1914.

1,170,053. Pzitented Feb. 1, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WITNESSES? INVENTOR.

Mai Q W M. A. DROITCOUR.

SHEET ADVANCING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 8, 1914.

1,170,053. Patented Feb. 1, 1916.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

1 I I H 10 F /5 wwwasscsr INVENTOR.

M. A. DROITCOUR.

SHEET ADVANCINIG MECHANISM.

APPLICATION HLED n:c.a. m4.

1,170,053. Pamnted Feb. 1, 1-916 4 SHEETFSIIEET 4.

WITNESSES INVENTOR.

drawings, in which,

UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

M ICHAEL A. DROITCOUR, OF DELPHOS, OHIO.

SHEET-ADVANCING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented-Feb. 1, 1916.

Application filed December 8,1914 Serial No. 876,037.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MICHAEL A. DROIT- cook, a citizen of the United States, and a residentof Delphos, in the county of Van 'Wert and State of Ohio, have invented a cation.

having upper and lower frame parts and associated sheet advancing means, which are capable of "being independently swung in an easy and efficient manner from horizontal operative to vertical inoperative positions, or substantially so, whereby to enhance the practicability and commercial value of mechanisms of this character.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description thereof.

The invention is fullydescribed in the following specification, and while, in its broader aspect, it is capable of embodiment in numerous forms, a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanying Figure l is'a plan view of a portion of a printing press with the mechanism embodying my invention associated therewith. Fig.

therein, said cylinder, in the present instance, being connected 'to a drive' sha '3 3 through a train of gears 4, 5, 6, the gear a being mountedbn a shaft 7. Mounted at the rear of the platen cylinder, at a distance therefrom, is a frame having two upright corner standards 8, 8, which are spaced transversely of the press frame, and preferably in line with the respective sides thereof, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Projecting'forward from each standard 8 is a bracket-arm 9 havinga bearing in its outer end for removablyv receiving the adjacent end of a shaft 10. The bearing openings in the arms '9 for receiving the shaft 10 are of U-form ed on a set of brackets or castings 16 carried bv the bars 13. The table 15 projects at its forward edge over the adjacent edge of the cylinder 2 in substantially tangential relation thereto, and is provided at such edge with a plurality of forwardly projecting fingers 17, on which gage fingers 18 rest when in lowered sheet obstructing position, as is well understood in the art.

Mounted over the table frame, in substantially parallel relation thereto, is an upper frame having the opposed side bars 19,

.which bars are provided at their rear ends with upwardly angledarms 20 that have loose bearings in the respective ends of a shaft 21. This shaft is journaled at its ends in bearing arms 22, which areshorter than the bearing arms 9, 9, and project from the standards 8, 8 abovesuch arms. The frame bars 19 are rigidly connectedadjacent to their'rear ends byacross bar 23, at their front ends by a bar 24, and substantially midway between said bars 23 and 24 by a.

bar-Q5. The bars 24 and 25 have their ends rigidly connected to and Supported above 'the respective bars 19 by bearing brackets 26 and 27, respectively, and the shaft 23 is shown-as being carried above the-plane of the bars 19 by hearing brackets 28. When the upper frame is in its reclining or operative position the forward end portions of the side bars 19 thereof loosely rest on the upper extended end portions 14 of the bearing brackets 14 and serve to retain the upper and lower frames in proper spaced relation. I The lower or table frame 1215 carries a cross-shaft 29, which is suitably journaled at its ends to the respective brackets 14 at the rear of the table 15, and carries a plurality of tape-wheels 30, a portion of which are connected by lower sheet advancing 'tapes 31 to registering tape-wheels on a rearwardly-disposed shaft The shaft 32 is carried at the rear ends of a pair of arms 34, which project rearward from a rock shaft 35 to which they are fixed. This rock shaft 35 is journaled in angled arms 36, which projectdownward and then upward and forward from the lower frame shaft 10, or froma conve'r-iient part of the frame bars 12, in fixed'relaliion thereto, as best shown in Figs? and It is thus apparent that the shaft 35 is niounted, in the present instance, slightly in advance of the shaft 10 and in fixed relation to the lower frame 12- 15. One of the arms 34 has a tail-piece 37' projecting forward and downward therefrom and connected by a coiled contraction spring 38 to the elbow of the angled arm 36.

The action of the spring 38 is such as to urge an upward rocking movement of the connected arms 34, 34 and shaft 32 for the purpose hereinafter described.

Projecting .upward and forward, in the present instance, from the forward bar 13 of the table frame in fixed relation thereto are 4 a. pair of bearing arms 39, which arms, in

the present instance,- are-disposed near the center of the bar 13 and carry a. short shaft 40 at their free ends. A pair of tape-Wheels 41 are mounted on the shaft 40, and theseare connected by advancing-tapes 42 to registering tape-wheels 30 on the shaft 29. The tapewvhgelg 41 project into registering openings in the table 15,15, with their upper peripheral edges in substantially the top surface plane of the table, as are also the upper edges of the tapes of the tape-wheels 30, thus adapting the upper portion of each tape 42 to travel in substantially the surface plane of the table, as is best shown in Fig.4.

The upper frame of the mechanism has a cross-shaft 43 journaled at its ends in the respective brackets 27 thereof, preferably in position to stand over the rear edge of the table 15, and this shaft is provided with a plurality of tape wheels 44, which are connected by tapes 45, to respective tape-wheels to the rack bars 51.

46, which are carried by a cross-shaft 47 atthe. rear of the upper frame. The shaft 47 is 1ournaled at lts ends in the free ends of a The tape wheel shaft 47 is preferably dis posed slightly to the rear of the vertical plane of the shaft 32, as shown in Fig. 3.

Extending between the upper frame bars '24 and25 and rigidly connecting the same are a pair of rack bars 51, which are spaced transversely of the frame and have their rack teeth on the bottom edges thereof, as shown in Fig. 4. A slide is mounted for longitudinal reci 'irocatory movements on each rack bar 51 and is provided with a set screw 53 for securing it to the rack bar in properlyadjusted relation thereto. A shaft 54 connects and is journaled at its ends in the respective slides 52 and fixedly carries a pinion 55 in mesh with the teeth of each rack bar. The shaft 54 also carries a pair of tape-wheels 56, and is provided at one end with a. hand wheel 57 to facilitate a hand turning of the shaft when it is desired to effect anadjustmentof the slides relative I The slides are connected in advance and below the plane of the shaft by a shaft which carries a pair of tape guiding rolls 59, the lower peripheral edges of which stand "in approxipair of arms 48, which project rearward mately the surface plane of the table 15 when the frames are in operative relation, as shown in Fig. 4. The tape wheels 56 and 59 aline with each other and withtape wheels 4-1 on the shaft 43 and tape-wheels 60 on a shaft 61, which is journaled in arms 62 fixedly projecting forward from the frame bar 24. A tape 63 connects and is guided in its course of movement by each of said sets of registering tape wheels, having its upper portion extending directly from one to the other of the wheels 4-4 and 60, and

'has its lower portion extending forward from the wheel 44, thence upward around the forward side of the wheel 59 and rearward and upward around the rear side of the wheel 55 and then forward to the wheel 60. The portion of the tape, which connects the wheels 44 and 59, is disposed in substantially the surface plane of the table 15 and in contact with the upper portion of the respective tape 42, the coacting portions of said tapes being forwardly driven to effect the forward feeding of a. sheet entering therebetween.

is evident that an adjustment of the slide frame; which comprises the slides 52 and shafts 54 and 58. which adjustment is effected by a turning of the shaft 54. will place the tape-wheels 59 closer to or fartherfrom the forward edge of the table to suit the lengths of sheets being fed to the cvline der. The. position Ofthewlieels M'hor the forward ends of. the lower advancing portions of the tapes ('33. should be such as to stand slightly to the rear of a sheet which has been fed-to the cylinder gripping position, so that such sheet will he .released from between the coat-ting portions of the tapes l2 and 63 slightly before the'shect has been. moved to stop gage coacting position- Disposed at the-rear of the shecet advancing mechanism-and mounted for vertical movements between the standards 8 is a table- 64. on whicha pile of sheets 65 to be successively advancedto the cylinder is mounted. -The' top of the pile of sheets is maintained at substantially the same height during an operation 'of the press by any suitable. automatic mechanism. As this mechanism forms no part of the present invention the same will not be described.

The sheets. in the present instance. are suc'cessivelv' picked up from the top of the. pile and advanced into position to be engaged between the two rear sets of. tapes 31 and 4.5 by a pneumatic mechanism of which 66 is" the sheet picking up and advancing mouth-piece. This mouth-piece has connection with a suitable suction creating means through a tube (37 in which is disposed a shut-off valve 68..- The vaIveWGS. which-is of the rotary type. has its stem provided with a crank arm 69 to which one end of a bar or link member- TO is pivotally connected. the other end of said bar being forked. as shown at T1. toiadaptjit to;.strad'- dle the shaft '21 for limited reciprocatory movements transversely thereof. The bar 70 is provided on one side thereof with a roller 72. which rides on a cam T3 that is fixed to and rotates with the shaft 21. The roller 72 is held to the pe'ripher v of the.- cam 73 by a coiled contractile spring 74; which connects the bar 70 and an adjacent portion of the upper frame of the advancing mechanism, as, for instance. to' one of the frame arms '15. The frame arms number and project re'arwaldly from the shaft 23 at opposite sides of the sheet pick ing up mouth piece 66 and are looselvcarried at their rear end portions by the shaft 21', as best shown in Figs-1 and 3. The arms 75 are provided at their opposite ends with depending portions 75". which are connected by guide bars 76. The guide bars 76 are disposed at opposite sides of the pickup mouth-piece 6G and project loosely through apertured cars 77 pro ecting from described.

Projecting rearward from the upper frame bar :23 adjacent to the arms 75 are a pair of bearing arms'i'h'. which carry a short rock-shaft T9 at their free ends. A pair of rocker arms 80 project downward from the shaft 79 and have connection at their free ends with the top portion of the mouth piece 6 through respective links An arm 82 projects upward from the-shaft T and is pivoted at its free end to'thc forward end of a bar or link member 93; which has its rear end forked andstraddling the shaft 21 for i'eciproc-atory verselv thereof. roller 84 is carried by the bar 83 at one side thereof and rides on the periphery of a cam (\3 that is carried b v andf rotates vvith the shaft '21. A coiled contractile spring H1; is connected at ione end to the rear end portion of one 'ofthe movements transarms T5 and at its other'end to a pin- 87-,

which projects upward from the rockshaft Tfhthns urging a rocking movement of the shaft in a direction opposed to the move ment imparted thereto by the cam .95. The formation of the cam 83 is such as to cooperate with the spring fit tofimpart properl v timed to and fro movements to the monthpiece (3G.

Fixed to the shaft '21. in the present in-. stance. over the left hand arm 34 is a cam HR. which has peripheral coaction with aroller carried bva thrust bar '89. the lower end of which bears dowi-iward against 'a plate 90. which is fixed to the rear end of said arm -H. and has its upper end forked and straddling th shaft "21 for transverse reciprocatorv movements relative thereto. The bar 90 passes through a guidefinger 91. which projects fro n'one side of the adjacent upper frame arm '20. The purpose of this means is to intermittently effect a lowering of the rear end portions of the advancing tapes 35 againstthe upward urging action of the springs 39. .The. formation of the cam 98 issucli that the rear end portions of the tapes 31 are held lowered relative to the tapes 45 during the advancing of a sheet bv the moutltpiece 66. the

It will be understood thata sheet is picked up and fed to the advancing mechanism at each complete rotation of the shaft 21.

The shaft 21, which is the main drive shaft of the sheet picking-up and advancing mechanism, carries a sprocket-wheel'92 at one end, which is connected by a cha n 93 to a sprocket-wheel 94 oh the shaft 7 of the press, thus communicating rotation directly from the shaft 7 to the shaft 21. The shaft 21 has a large gear 95 on the end thereof adjacent to the sprocket wheel 92, and this gear meshes with and drives a small pinion 96 on a stub-shaft 97 projecting from the adjacent side bar 19 of the upper frame. Fixed to the pinion 96 at one side thereof is a larger pinion 98, which meshes with and drives a gear v99 on a stub-shaft 100,

'which also projects from the frame bar 19.

,The gear 99 has a sprocket-wheel 101 fixed to the side thereof and this sprocket-wheel is connected by a sprocket-chain 102 to a sprocket-wheel 103 at the outer end of the tape shaft 43, which is carried by the upper frame of the mechanism. The gear 95 also meshes with and drives a small pinion 104, which in turn meshes with aiidedrives a smaller pinion 105, said pinion being mounted respectively on stub-shafts 106 and 107 projecting from the adjacent sprocket arm 9. Fixed to the side of the pinion 105 is a larger pinion 108 which meshes with and drives a gear'109 mounted loosely on the adjacent end of the shaft 10. Fixed to the side of the gear 109 is a'sprocket-wheel 110 that is connected by a sprocketechain 111 to a sprocket-wheel 112, which is fixed to the adjacent end of the tape shaft 29. The gear trains, which connect the master gear wheel 95 to the respective driven tape shafts, are proportioned to communicate. the desired sheet advancing movements to the respective shafts 29 and 43. so that the advancing of the sheets by the tapes will be timed to suit the JilOYQlUGIitS of the sheet picking up and advancing mouth-piece and the running of the press, as will be understood by those skilled in the art.

The operation of my improved sheet picking up and advancing mechanism is as follows: \Vhen the sheet picking up mouthpiece 66 is at the rear end of its stroke. thecam 88 acts on the push rod 89 to effect and maintain a lowering of the rear end portions of the rocker arms 3% to retain the rear end portions of the lower tapes 31 in spaced or open sheet receiving relation to the upper tapes 45. and the cam 73 acts on the bar '70 to open the vacuum valve 68 to permita sheet picking up suction to take place within the IHOlltll-l'ilfl't. After the opening of the vacuum valve 66 the mouth-piece controlling cam 85 permits a forward movement of the mouthpiece under the action of the spring 66, and this movement of the mouth piece draws the forward edge of the engaged sheet forward into gripping position between the rear portions of the coacting feed tapes 31 and 45. \Vhen the mouth piece has reached the limit of its forward movement, or substantially so, the vacuum controlled camf73 will have moved sufficiently to permit a closing of the vacuum valve under the action of the spring 74,thus effecting a re leasing of the engaged sheet from the'mouthpiece, and the cam'88 will have moved sufiicie'ntly to permitan upward movement of the thrust rod 89 to permit a raisingof ment of the slide frame 525 458,wliichadjustment is effected by a turning of the shaft 54 due to the'pinions 5 5 thereon engagingthe teeth of the rack bars 51. The

advancing of this slide frame advances or retracts the tape wheels 59 relative to the tape wheels 44 and effects a corresponding lengthening or shortening of the sheet feeding portions of the tapes 63, which connect said tape wheels.

It is apparent that the upper and lower tape carrying frames are capable of' being easily and quickly raised to inoperative upright dsition'to facilitate access to the cyl indei or rear portionsof the press, the upper frame swinging on the shaft 21, as an axis. and the lower frame swinging on the shaft 10 as an axis. The swinging of the frames is accomplished withoutdisconnecting-the tape driving gear, as is evident by reference to Fig. 5-. and without disconnecting or changing the adjustmentof the sheet and initial advancing means.

picking 7 up It is evident that I have provided a simple and eflicient sheetadvancing mechanism, which is automatically operable to pick up and initially advance a sheet to tape engaging position and. then to continue the advancing of the sheet by the tapes. the tape means being adjustable to release their ad vancing engagement with a sheet at as predetermined point in the advancing move-- .ment of the sheet. thus enhancing the practicability and commercial value of mechanisms of this character.

I wish it understood that my invention is i not limited to any specific construction. ar-, rangenient or form of the parts as it is capable of numerous modifications and ,mechanical sheet changes without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus describeo my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,

1. In combination, a plurality of sets of cooperating sheet advancing means, separate frames carrying different sets of said advancing means and pivotally mounted to have independent raising and lowering movements to place them in upright or reclining positions.

2. In combination, a plurality of sets of cooperating sheet advancing means, separate frames carrying difierent sets of said advancing means and pivotally mounted to have independent raising and lowering movements, and means operable to drive said sets in any position of movement of said frames.

3. In combination, a plurality of sets of cooperating sheet advancing means, separate frames carrying different sets of said advancing means and being independently movable into and out of operative position, a drive member, and separate means connecting said drive member and the advanc ing means of the different frames'to communicate advancing movements to said advancing means fromsaid member, said connecting means remaining in driving connection with said member during a movement of the frames to and from operative position.

4. In a printing press, a feed board, and

feeding means having uper and lower sets of sheet advancing tapes which deliver sheets in successive order to cylinder picxing-up position on the feed board and then release them.

5. In a printing press, a feedboard, and mechanical means for successively feeding sheets to cylinder picking-up position on the feed board, said means embodying upper and lower runs of feeding tapes with the upper sheet advancing portion of the lower tapes in substantially flush parallel relation with the top surface of the feed board.

6. In a printing press, a feed board, and mechanical means for successively feeding sheets to cylinder picking-up position on the feed board, said means embodying upper and lower runs of feeding tapes'with the upper sheet advancing port on of the lower tapes in substantially flush parallel relation with the top surface of the feed board and with the upper tapes provided with looped sheet advancing portions which are adjustable to regulate the forward feeding of the sheets by said means.

7. In a printing press, table, mechanical means for advancing sheets to cylinder picking-up position on said table, said means comprising separately hinged upper and lower sections to permit the sections to have raising movements from operative position and one of said sections carrying the feed board.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MICHAEL A. DROITCOUR.

Witnesses:

N. R. WILLIAMS, M. F. WEGER.

a cylinder, a feed Patent- 

